


Sandwich taste the sweetest

by Orangebubble



Series: Birthday of my Baby [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Bday fic, Cat Owner Gavin Reed, Cats are the best, Deviant Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Deviant Upgraded Connor | RK900, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Gavin Reed Deserves Happiness, Gavin Reed Needs a Hug, Gavin is my baby so I hurt him, Gavin's cats are the best, Gen, I Made Myself Cry, Ignored, Important for Human Relationship, Jelly Sandwich, Nines is cold as bitch, Peanut Butter, Sad, See Nines pine for Gavin for just a second, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has a Different Name, both RKs care for Hank's health, forgotten, no beta we die like man, sharing food, the boy is so bad at it and doesn’t know his own heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-11-27 01:11:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20939831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orangebubble/pseuds/Orangebubble
Summary: Only on special days, Gavin doesn't partake in his healthy lifestyle. This is one of these days.Part 1 of my Bday Stories for Gavin.





	Sandwich taste the sweetest

**Author's Note:**

> Heyo, thank you for clicking the fic.
> 
> I hope you have fun reading it, was something different for me to write this time. No pairing and all. But I wanted it this way. 
> 
> Make ready for some sadness.

Stumbling into the kitchen still half asleep, he caught himself on the counter, when he slipped on one of Milo’s & Molly’s cat toys. Murmuring angrily under his breath, he made his way to the coffee machine, pressing the button, patting is past him on the shoulder, that he already had filled the machine and put a cup under it.

Waiting around for the black gold to flow, he leaned against the counter and stared into his dark apartment. And the apartment stared back. At least in the form of Milo who was sitting on his cat tree, watching him with golden eyes, silently. Molly was mostly still in the bedroom lounging on his pillow sucking of the warm he left behind.

His coffee finished and as he took the first sip, moaned happily.

Enjoying his morning brew, he felt a soft fur moving along his naked legs. It was Molly, she was doing twirling between his legs in a figure eight, must have woken up from the noise. He looked down at her and she started to meow loudly.

He chuckled fondly. “Only waking up for food, I see.”

With the coffee still in hand, he made his way up to the cupboard with the cat food, set his cup down and opened the lock with his fingerprint - a necessity with Milo trying to get into anything - and got out two cans. Turning to get to the drawer for the can opener because it seems fancy organic cat food couldn’t be user-friendly - he came face to face with his calender and stopped dead in his tracks.

“Oh.”

He read the date of the day again.

“Meowww”

That brought him out of his stupor and he looked down, Milo had joined his sister in the quest of getting breakfast, looking at him expectantly.

“Ye, sorry guys.”

He got back to his original plan, opened their food and dumped into their bowls, checked the water fountain and then got back to the calendar, which was still made out of paper, he was old school like that.

Feeling claws scratching his bare skin, he flinched and looked down once more to the source. Both his cats were staring at him with big eyes, food all forgotten.

A fond smile stole itself on his lips.

“It’s okay guys. It’s just a date and it comes every year around. And I know what to do now, right?”  
“Mwrrrp.”

He laughed under his breath and crouched down, giving them both his full attention and crawling them both behind the ears.

“Go back to your food. I will get ready. Need to do something now, mhm.”

One last scratch and he stood up, waiting till both animals turned back to their food. Then he took a last glance at the calendar, grabbed his half-full mug of coffee forgotten on the counter and made his way to his bedroom. He had things to do.

\------  
\------

Work had been normal this day, as normal as it can be when you work as a detective in a homicide department in one of the busiest cities of the federal state.

He had visited crime scenes, talked to witnesses and already had to do an interrogation with one suspect, which hadn’t brought much light to the investigation, to the anger of his partner and himself. Now he, Detective G. J. Reed, was on his desk, filling out the paperwork for the things that had happened around the day and things that had been left from yesterday.

Signing he took the last sip of his already cold coffee, grimaced a little, but drank it. Coffee was coffee.

Glancing to side at his partner for a second, the only RK900, dubbed Nines, inexistent, who was interfacing with his work station, he looked back at his own work. His eyes caught the digital clock in the corner of his screen. It was long past lunchtime and he hadn’t taken him, the day been too busy.

Taking a look at the empty breakroom he made his decision. Got down to get out his lunch from his backpack and then stood up from his desk. Not informing his partner where he was going, the android had eyes he could see where he was going and made his way to the breakroom, empty cup of coffee in hand.

Setting the used cup in the sink, in favor of getting a glass with cold water, Gavin made himself cozy at the only table of the room. Packing out his lunch, which was today on a plain blue plastic box. Opening it, it was full of peanut butter - jelly sandwiches, cut into triangles. Without much fanfare, he dug in.

Enjoying his lunch and scrolling around his social media, while he ate, he didn’t notice someone joining him in the room.

“Detective Reed.” Nines cool and collected voice echoed in the empty room.

Gavin didn’t look up from his phone. “Mhm?”

“What are you doing?”.

Now he did look up slightly confused. Wasn’t it oblivious?

“Having lunch?”

He could see how unsatisfied Nines was with that answer.

“I can see that, Detective. Nevertheless, this behavior is highly unusual for you.”

“Me having lunch is unusual?”

His partner, still standing in the entrance of the room, looked at him like he was a child, who had asked the same question too often.

“No, Detective. You taking your lunch here, not at your desk. The beverage you choose to consume while you eat and the fact that this is not the normal highly prepared food you consume. It’s junk food in comparison to your usual lunch option.”

“Peanut butter - jelly sandwiches classic lunch option.”

Nines pinched the bridge of his nose, a human gesture he had picked up quickly with Gavin as a partner.

“Detective, this is not wh-”

“You want one?”, Gavin interrupted his partner which voice was dripping with annoying irritation. He knows his partner could eat, in theory.

Nines looked at him baffled and speechless, something that Gavin tried to safe to his memory, that didn’t happen often.

The android eyes narrowed to angry slits.

“No, Detective, I don’t want anything of your poorly prepared food.”

Gavin shrugged, “Suit yourself.”

With an angry huff and a last look at his human partner, which was filled with contempt, Nines stepped away.

Gavin shrugged again to himself this time and moved back on his lunch and phone, he had 23 minutes left of his break.

But the peace didn’t hold long, as his partner stepped back into the room five minutes later.

Silence settled between them, till Gavin had enough and looked up at the android, one eyebrow raised questioningly.

“Yes.”

Nines cleared his throat like he was making himself ready to give Gavin a speech and stepped closer to him and the table.

“Connor informed me, that offering and sharing food is an important part of relationships between humans. So if you are still willing to share, I would like some.”

Gavin could see quite clearly how much Nines hated to ask him that. He kept staring at him for a second, letting him squirm a bit.

“Sure,” he went and took out a triangle form the box, which was full of them, offering it to the other.

Nines stared at it. “I can’t consume this much.”

“Oh, ehm.” Gavin broke the sticky bread triangle in half, “This okay?”

The android nodded and took the offered food with his fingertips, trying mostly to have the least contact as possible with it.

Under the attentive eyes of his partner, he took a bite and was surprised? At least that what Gavin got from the expression on his face.

“It surprises me, that you still keep up with your diet even if taken upon such childish food for your lunch.”

Gavin laughed without mirth.

“Rub it in, Nines.”

His comment was ignored.

“The bread is from vegan and organic origin and the peanut butter as well as the marmalade is self-made and low in sugar and salt, besides the sweetness of the ingredients used.”

“Are you finished with analyzing my lunch to his last atom? You know you can just say, you like it.”

Nines looked at him with his typical resting bitch face.

Gavin just gave him a smirk and took a sip of his water, while he kept watching Nines.

Their staring contest in which Nines didn’t take another bite of the sandwich was interrupted by another person stepping into the room curiously.

“What’s up with my two favorite boys?” Tina Chen cheerily declared.

“Hey, Chen” “Officer Chen.” was thrown at her in greeting.

She stepped to the table, set down her arms on it to prop her chin on her hand, watching them both curious. She must have sensed something was going on and her heart basically beat for any juicy gossip she could get.

Before Nines could give her a length and dry answer, Gavin offered another piece of sandwich to her.

“You want one? It’s peanut butter - jelly.”

“Sure,” A little bit confused she took it, looked at it in more confusion before biting into it.

She hummed happily and then turned back to them. Still, with a full mouth, she asked: “So what you’re doing here?”

Nines looked at him disgusted, Gavin could relate, talking with your mouth full was disgusting. But nobody ever said Tina was a classy woman.

Saving his partner, Gavin sprung in.

“What it looks like? Having my lunch?”

Thankfully Tina swallowed before she asked the next question.

“With Nines? Color me surprised Gavy.”

Gavin made a face at the old nickname, which he had told her again and again not to use, but she didn’t seem to listen or just ignored it.

“Not exactly, Officer Ch-” Nines started but was interrupted by Chris Miller.

Who greeted them all with a friendly “Hey, guys.” before keeping on his route to the coffee machine.

“Make me one too, Chris.” Tina hollered at him.

“What’s the magic word?”, he asked without turning around

“Pff, I’m not your child, Chris!”

Miller just pressed the button on the coffee machine once.

“Urgh, pretty pleaseeeeee”, Chen whined loudly. The button was pressed once more.

Stepping with two cups of coffee to the already crowded desk, Miller gave Chen hers.

“So what you are all up to?”

Gavin just offered him a sandwich, before Chen could open her mouth, and grunted “Lunch.”

“Oh, thank you, Gavin. Peanut butter - jelly, huh? They are Damien's favorite.”

And that opened the door about a whole other discussion, then why Gavin and Nines were together in the breakroom. Chris knows how to seamlessly enter any conversation.

Listening to Chris and Tina talking about Chris's son Damien and keeping on eating his slowly, diminishing lunch, with Chen taking a few more of his sandwiches without asking, neither Gavin nor the others - okay maybe Nines with his fancy tech - noticed the incoming pair.

Connor with Hank in tow, stepped into the room, eyes landing promptly on the food his younger brother was still holding, having taken only small bites, smiling at it proudly. Hank shuffled off to get his own caffeine fix, while Connor made his way to the group.

Coming to a stand next to his brother, Gavin could see their LEDs changing colors, they must have a conversation over their connection. Nines looked away in annoyance on his face and took one more bite of his sandwich. Connor kept smiling now more teasingly. Then he turned to the group and without prompting Gavin offered him the other half of the triangle he had shared with Nines. Connor’s mouth fell open in surprise.

“Detec-”

“Giving out food like a good samaritan, Reed? You’re feeling alright?.” Hank roughly interrupted, joining them with a fresh cup of coffee.

Gavin just let out a short “pff” at the comment and also offered Hank one. Who looked at it warily.

“You try to poison us?”

“Hank! Detectives Reed's food is not poisoned. If you declare poison in a way of a substance that hurt the human body in big quantities, you can even say its less than poisonous. It’s very low in sugar and salt. You should try it.”

Gavin looked bewildered at Connor, who just defended his food?

Hank huffed grumpily. “Well, Reed has no taste buds than. With all the healthy icky green stuff he fills himself with.” But he took the sandwich and bit into it, not moving a muscle in his face to show if he liked it or not.

“Detectives Reed ‘healthy icky green stuff’ is a balanced healthy diet. Which would be good for you to follow than just to visit Chicken Feed so often. If you do it, I might be more inclined to cook less tofu for you.”

Hanks's face scrunched up at this, but he kept eating.

“Tofu is the devil's seed in block form.” he murmured under his breath.

“Actually, Lieutenant, Tofu is-” Nines quipped in.

Hank groaned, “Not you too, Nines.”

But it was already too late and the two androids of the same series started a speech on the benefits of a healthy diet, while Tina and Chris were deep in their discussion about their love lives. Tina showing Chris something on her phone.

Gavin just leaned more onto the overcrowded table, listened to snippets of conversation and ate. With a glance of the analog clock - a relique of old times - in the room he noticed he had 10 minutes left of his break.

“Can somebody tell me why you all seem to have a party in the breakroom, while there is work to be done?”

Captain Fowler with an angry face entered the scene, asking the question loudly. It went silent in the room, beside the noises of the machinery.

No one really answered, so Gavin just took one of the last sandwiches he had and offered it to his Captain. “Having my late lunch.”

Fowler looked down questioningly at the offered food and then back to Gavin, searching for a clue what was going on. But he then just seem to throw it all out of the window and take the offered food.

“Peanut butter & jelly, Reed?”

“Mhmm.”  
“It has been ages since I had one, it’s a classic.”

Gavin hides his chuckle behind one more bit of his own food, not looking at Nines, which LED must be doing rounds in yellow.

With the offer of food and how it had placated the Captain from his anger, Tina got back to her phone and in the discussion with Chris. While the Captain took place next to Hank while eating, injecting his own wisdom in the discussion of the Leutnant diet. Which was no real help to Hank and his side of argumentation and you could hear him whisper “Traitor” under his breath. Fowler just smirked and kept on helping the RKs.

Gavin kept on watching the people around him, eating and drinking the last of his lunch. Before, after another glance at the ticking clock, he made his way with his used dishes to the sink to rinse and dry them, his old coffee cup included.

He made himself a new cup of the black liquid, then he turned to leave.

“Detective? Where are you going.”

Ah so somebody did notice his departure, even if it was just his partner.   
He pointed at the clock.

“My break is over.” and with that, he made his way back to his desk and the paperwork he had left. Nines watching his departing back, but not further commenting.

It didn’t need long after this for the group in the breakroom to dissolve. Miller and Tina got a dispatch about a break-in, while Fowler's phone rang with his own special tone and Connor pulling Hank to the evidence room for their case. Nines joined him soon on the opposite desk.

Sitting down he didn’t go to work right away, instead, he watched his human partner. Till Gavin raised his head in question.

“Yes?”

Nines watched him a few seconds longer before he gets back to his own work. “Nothing.”

Gavin was puzzled for a moment but then just shrugged and got back to typing.

\-----  
\-----

Closing the door to his apartment behind him, he signed, before he sacked against it and let gravity pull him down to the floor. His keys and backpack falling to his side. He could hear his cats' paws making his way up to him and not half a minute later he had his lap full of cats.  
They were meowing loud at him searching for attention, which he gave them with patting fingers.

“Hey, guys. How was your day? Mine was pretty good”, he sounded tried.

His cats noticed and Molly got up on her hind legs to balance herself on his chest, to lick his cheek sweetly. He crawled her behind her ears.

“Thank you, Molleydolley. But it was really good, you know? Really felt like they cared for a second that I was born today. That they were happy that I was born today.”

Gavin didn’t know when the tears started to quell up from his eyes, bit Milo joined his sister on licking his cheek, nuzzling and purring against him. He crumbled and hugged his cats close to his chest.

Every year it was the same game. No one remembered his birthday, not his parents, not his brother, not his so-called friends and no one at the precinct.

In truth he was used to it, his family never giving him much attention, not on his birthday or any other day. He was always the forgotten one.

When he finally moved out and got his own life, he thought that it would change and he tried to change it, truly, he did! But nothing ever came out of it and he became forgotten again.

So he started with to fall back in an old habit he had begun when he was younger and lonely on his birthday:

A peanut butter & jelly sandwich was something sweet and something he could easily make himself when he was younger without getting in trouble with his parents. And when he closed his eyes, he could just imagine that it tasted like cake. Like the cake that his mother baked every year for Elijah’s birthday.

Sharing the sandwich with back then only his brother and maybe his mentor Amanda, when she was there, and now the people in the precinct, he could envision as his party, that anybody attended because they wanted to see him on his birthday.

He didn’t really need any presents or well wishes for his birthday. He was just happy when people noticed him and paid some kind of attention to him, which wasn’t based on something he did wrong again. He got this enough.

He was just happy when people didn’t look at him like they were happier if he never had been born. Because he was born on this day and he wanted people to be happy that he was born and still alive. Even if it was all pretending. 


End file.
